Hermione aka Mrs George Weasley
by Emilytheweird
Summary: We’ve all read at least one WIKTT marriage law fan fiction. What if, George petitions for Hermione’s hand in marriage?
1. Chapter 1

Summary: We've all read at least one WIKTT marriage law fiction. What if, George petitions for Hermione's hand in marriage?

Disclaimer: Yes I own them all!!! All of them!!! Oh wait you were asking about the Harry Potter world? Oh never mind then, I thought were talking about pokemon. My bad. Anyway, I don't own this, any of it really, the characters are JK Rowling's and the plot is from a WIKTT challenge. So without further ado….

Fred sighed, another long and busy day at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was over. He opened the cash register and pulled out the till. Waving his wand in a tired fashion, he brought up the 16 locking and warding spells that kept the store safe. Then he walked into the office in the back. Sitting down and pulling out his wand again he began to magically count the money. With everything counted and closed up, he headed upstairs to George's apartment.

The apartment was a small three bedroom one bathroom type that had once been his own as well as George's but, when he and Angelina had gotten married, Fred had left it all to George, Angelina had hated the décor anyway. When he reached the door he simply walked inside, knocking would be pointless, it was his twin, what was there to see that he hadn't seen? But then again, it had been George's day off so he wasn't sure what he'd find.

George was leaning back in a kitchen chair with his feet on the table, twirling the wand in his hand.

"What's wrong Gred?" Fred asked as he closed the door and sat down at the table across from his twin.

"They've passed it." George whispered as he handed the newspaper next to his legs, to his brother. "The marriage law has been passed, petitions can be sent starting today."

"What!? Oh my god George! This is fantastic. She's as good as Mrs. George Weasley, there is no way she'll be able to say no. It's the law!"

"Even if she did say yes, she'll never love me. She'll always resent me for taking away her freedom of choice. It'd be a paper marriage and besides, what makes you think for a moment she'd agree to marry me. I'm probably like a brother to her or something."

"Come on now, she's going to have to marry someone,. Why not you? You can't believe for a moment that no one else will petition for her. She's the smartest witch of the century and a looker too. Plus the whole war hero bit and best friend of Harry is going to draw in all kinds of creeps. Think of it this way, you'll be doing her a favor, if not for you she could end up with Malfoy or Zabini. She'll probably look at you as her hero."

George snorted, "Even if I was to petition for her, it's not as though I'd have half a shot at being excepted.

"Who else is there? Harry and Ginny are married, so Harry's a no, Ron is already engaged to that weirdo Lavender, in fact, all of us Weasleys have found a special someone except for you. She'll say yes."

"Not if I don't petition for her she won't."

"George don't you get it? This law is a godsend. This law is made to benefit purebloods who need wives. You are a pureblood, and you need a wife. This is your chance, take it or watch her end up in some hellhole with a deatheater's son. It's your choice. "

"She's going to kill me, "

"But the wedding night will be worth it."

"Yea, I suppose it will be."

"Thata boy. Now get the petition written up and ready to send. Granger won't know what hit her"

Hermione sat in her small muggle London apartment with a cup of tea in one hand and the newspaper in the other hand. Normally this was her favorite time of the day, the sun had risen approximately two hours ago, the air was crisp and clean and dew was still visible on the leaves of a small plant sitting on her balcony. It was a beautiful morning to be sure, but Hermione couldn't care less.

The Daily Prophet was never Hermione's favorite newspaper, but since it was the only magical London based paper she didn't have many options. Today's headline "Ordinance k102-34 is Passed", was printed in bold capital letters was all Hermione needed to ruin her morning. The accompanying article read;

"Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour has officially announced that ordinance k102-34, commonly referred to as the 'marriage law', has been passed . For those who are not familiar with said ordinance, ordinance k102-34 states that any witch or wizard between the ages of 17 and 50 who can prove a completely magically inclined heritage of at least 10 generations back (pureblood), will be able to petition for any witch or wizard who does not meet the above requirements (half-blood, muggleborn). Any witch or wizard that receives one or more petitions will have one week's time to decide which petition to accept . If said petitioned witch or wizard refuses to accept a petition they will be automatically paired with any available pureblooded witch or wizard who has not been married after two years time. The law will officially come into effect today. When asked about any possibly negative affects the ordinance may bring, the minister commented, 'I don't believe that anyone will suffer from this law, it will bring about a much needed unity in this time of crisis.' The ordinance was originally propositioned to try to lower the amount of non-magical children born to magical parents (squibs). Although the affects of this law are yet to be seen… (Article continued on page 4A)

Hermione's hands were trembling so badly her tea spilt across the paper uncomfortably close to the smiling picture of Rita Skeeter. Rita's picture struggled to remain dry and silently screamed curses at Hermione as the hot tea began to smudge her article and creep toward her picture. Hermione was oblivious to Rita's plight as she set down her now nearly empty tea cup.

For a period of time Hermione could not determine, she did not move. Staring at nothing she sat silently at her table for what felt like days. Her world was over. No longer would she be independent Hermione Granger, in a few weeks she'd be some pureblood's housewife. A little woman to raise children, cook, and clean her life away for some husband who wouldn't even love her. Her apartment would be sold, at this thought she surveyed the room from her chair, all of this, her muggle tendencies and quirky taste would be taken from her, not even her muggle name would stay. She wanted to cry, but no tears fell. How did she become the odd one out? Why hadn't she stayed with Ron like everyone expected? 'Because he drove you insane!', a voice in her head reminded her. But I could've used earplugs and gotten over it had I only known this was the alternative. She thought to herself. But it would do her no good to dwell on her 'mistakes'.

She sighed loudly, she had a week left to live freely, and she was going to enjoy it. Walking over to her desk she sat down and pulled out a piece of parchment and dipped her quill in the navy ink bottle that she'd neglected to put away after her last letter. Touching the quill to a clean piece of parchment, she slowly wrote a letter to her part time employer, Flourish and Blotts. From the beginning her employment there had been temporary, it only made sense to let them know now that she wouldn't be returning. It was unlikely that her new husband would allow her to work anyway. Most pureblood families encouraged women to live as housewives. She wrote her letter slowly and deliberately so as not to show her distress. When she was finished she stood up and tied the letter to her owl Posie's leg. "Take this to Mr. Blott, Posie." She ran her hand absentmindedly over Posie's soft dark feathers. Posie nipped her hand affectionately before taking off and flying out through the open balcony door.

Hermione then pulled on her black traveling robe and closed the balcony door. After locking up her apartment with both muggle and magical locks she grabbed a small amount of floo powder and tossed it into the fireplace. "The Potters" She stepped inside the green flames and felt the familiar spinning sensation that came with travel by floo. As soon as it started the spinning slowed. Stepping out of the fireplace and into the living room of the Weasley home she was greeted by Ginny.

"Hermione, you're here earlier than I thought you would be." Ginny said as she looked toward the clock on the mantle.

"I know, I'm so sorry Gin, but I am just so out of it." Hermione replied looking around the cozy room.

"I suppose you saw the paper then?"

"Yes, I did. I nearly choked on my tea this morning."

"I'm sure it'll all work out, Mione, there are plenty of wonderful men out there and I'm sure they will all petition for you."

"That's just it Gin, I don't want a wonderful man, I don't want any man. I want to read my books and sleep in my own bed, in my muggle apartment, with my cat, and work where I want to and when I want to."

"Hermione, you're overreacting, I'm sure that very little will change for you."

"That's easy for you to say, as a pureblood married witch." As soon as Hermione said it, she regretted it. "Look Gin, I'm sorry, I really am. I just am so upset right now, I don't know what to do."

"Hermione, it's okay, it'll be alright. Everything will be fine. If need be, I'll force George to marry you." Ginny said as she wrapped an arm around Hermione and lead her toward the kitchen table.

"I couldn't do that to George, he deserves to pick his own bride." Hermione said as she sat down in a chair at the table.

"Who deserves to pick their own bride?" Molly asked as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Hermione doesn't want to inconvenience George by asking him to petition for her if she only gets freaks." Ginny replied nonchalantly as she sat down across from Hermione.

"Oh honey," Molly said as she sat down at the table as well. "don't you think that way for a moment. George will have to marry someone as well, if he is the best option then why not accept him? Hmmm? He's a good boy, he may be a bit of trouble when he wants to be but all the same he's a good man."

"Molly, Gin, I haven't even been petitioned for yet. And therefore it seems a little odd to me that we are discussing a petition from George when he hasn't even petitioned yet." Hermione said in a somewhat exasperated voice. As Hermione finished this there was a tap at the window.

Molly walked over to the window and opened it for the owl, as she was about to close the window after the owl she happened to look out into the sky. The sight in front of her made her falter. "Hermione dear, I think you've got mail." She said in a disbelieving voice. Flying toward the house were at least 75 owls.

So? Whatcha think? I don't have a beta so this probably isn't perfect, but I did try to reread it a couple of times to get it ready. I already have the next chapter written and all so this should be updated shortly. Review if you like. I'll keep writing either way.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: It's not what it looks like officer, I didn't STEAL them per say, I just sort of borrowed them…. I'll return most of them, lol. Just kidding not mine.

Thanks to those who did review it is nice to know what you think. Oh and obviously this story is AU because the twins are just too hot….

"Okay dear I think that if we just sort these out and eliminate a few of the ones we know you can't except, then this will be easier." Molly said as she stared at the 89 petitions on her kitchen table. All of them addressed to Hermione. Molly's original estimate had been close but it was nearly impossible to count that many moving objects.

"Here, let me try something." Ginny said waving her wand at Hermione and then back at the pile of petitions. The pile that had been 89 was now only 54.

"What did you do?" Hermione asked looking at her now slightly more manageable pile of petitions.

Ginny smiled, "I banished any petitions from men you'd never met before."

"Thanks Gin, but still how am I ever going to get through this? This is just such a big decision to make…" Hermione trailed off and paled as she saw the petition on the top of the pile, Draco Malfoy's petition. "I think I'm going to be sick." Hermione muttered as she pushed the petitions away from her.

Ginny looked from Hermione to the pile of petitions and quickly snatched up Draco's petition. "That little ferret, I'm going to kill him. She quickly crumpled up the petition and threw it toward the other side of the room. "There, now don't worry about him, Mione. You won't have to marry him, cause if you do, I'll make sure you are a widow, I know people who-"

Ginny was cut off, "Ginerva Weasley! Leave it be, Hermione won't have to marry him. I'm going to go get George to petition."

"No, Mrs. Weasley I could never do that to George. He deserves a choice in the matter." Hermione said desperately trying to save George from the unhappy fate she had.

"Hermione, we're here for you, I know that you feel alone and with out your parents to help you, how could you not? But I've always thought of you as part of my family and there's nothing that Arthur and I wouldn't do for you." Molly said as she wrapped her arms around Hermione. "And if I have to hunny, I will have Arthur send out the petition in George's name."

"That's alright Molly, I'm sure I'll figure something out." As Hermione said this another owl flew into the room. "Not another one." Hermione cried out.

"I think I recognize that owl." Ginny said as the owl dropped another petition into Hermione's hands.

"We'll let's find out, open it up dear." Molly said softly.

"Here goes nothing." Hermione whispered ad she broke the ministry seal and unfolded the petition.

"I, George Weasley, hereby petition to wed Hermione Granger in accordance with Ordinance k102-34. If she should accept, she will be wed to myself with 30 days of signing this petition."

"Well I won't have to force him I guess." Molly said with a smile.

W W W 3

George was more nervous than he could ever remember being before in his life. The petition had been sent and now he could do nothing but wait. Wait, and wonder what Hermione was thinking and if she would say yes. He was working the floor today and Fred had the register, this was no time to be nervous and daydreaming. He needed to be focused but instead he was thinking of Hermione.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help me?" Said a small boy with sandy hair and Hogwarts School robes with yellow trimming.

"What can I do for you? Puking Pastel? Canary Cream? Ton ton Taffy?" George asked picking up the various products.

The boy shook his head. "I'm looking for a gift for a girl… something nice." The blush that crept across his cheeks was a dead giveaway, the boy wanted to woo a girl.

George smiled, "You don't want anything like that then, let me see, I've got some day dream candy that will turn any class into a nice day in the park, um, or some handheld fireworks, always an eye catcher…. Oh here's something, How about a few Pygmy Puffs? Girls love those, they look like little puff balls." George looked around the shop, "I think that's about it, other than the gossip friendly aisle over to your left, that has your pass free notes and extendable ears…. Did you have any questions or is there anything else I can help you with?"

The boy smiled and shook his head as he headed off toward the products George had mentioned.

"Um, George? Can you please help me by explaining what this is?" A shrill and rather annoyed voice asked.

George had known that it was Hermione before he even turned around. Trying to look calmer than he felt he turned to face Hermione and the petition he had sent only a short time ago. "Explain what?"

"You know god damn well what! What were you thinking petitioning for me?" Hermione was red in the face as she yelled this and pushed the petition into is face.

"Oh, that's what you mean, well about that, um I'm Fred." George hoped the lie would work but knew instantly that it would not.

"George, I've always been able to tell you two apart, so don't even try that crap. Why did you send this?"

"I, umm, can we maybe talk later? I get my lunch in about an hour, I could meet you somewhere and we could talk about this in private maybe?"

"Fine, you've got one hour. Meet me at the Hog's Head, don't be late." Hermione said this quickly and with a final glance walked out the door of W3 and disapparated with a defining crack.

"You are so dead my brother." Fred smiled as he hung his arm over George's shoulder.

"You don't think she'll actually hurt me, do you?" George asked a little more afraid at the thought of a rather pissed Hermione waiting for him.

"Oh I don't think so," Fred smirked, "I know so!" He laughed at the thought of his twin having to calm down Hermione. When George's face fell though, he tried to make light of the situation. "Hey now, don't look so down, just tell her you wanted to give her the option and that it is totally up to her. She'll see the light," at this point he paused, "either that or you will." With one final snicker he ran back up to the register, leaving George 55 more minutes to ponder his fate.

H O G S H E A D

As he approached the door to the Hog's Head, George prayed that Hermione was at least a tiny bit calmer than earlier. Sighing and gathering his courage, George pulled open the door. The wooden door was heavy and sounded to George as though a canon had been shot off when it slammed shut behind him. Wincing at the interruption of otherwise complete silence in the bar, George headed toward the table in the back at which Hermione was currently sitting at. As he approached, she turned to look at him.

"You made it on time I see."

"Um, yeah, I did. Look Hermione, I know that you are upset with me for petitioning for you and I want you to know that I'm really sorry about the situation this law puts you in, but if you let me, I think we can make the best of this." George finished and looked into her eyes for any clue of her emotions.

"Thank you George, I'm sorry that I'm so moody, I just, well, I feel like my life is over, but I shouldn't take this out on you" She looked at him and George could now see the fear in her eyes. "Also, George I wanted to see you today because I wanted to know what you'd expect out of a marriage with me, I know the ministry has some, shall we say, 'marital requirements' of it's own, but I need to know some things, for instance, do you, I mean to say, will you allow me as your wife to earn a living?"

"Of course I'd be fine with that, but just to be clear, I do want my children to be raised by their mother, so maybe if you were to take the first few years of their lives off of work and then return part time or something so that you could still spend time with them." Hermione's smile was a relief.

"How about living arrangements?"

"Fred and Angie have their own place so the apartment above the shop in Hogsmeade is mine. We could always live there for awhile, it's a three bedroom and then, when we are ready, we could move into a real house."

"That sounds fine with me George. But are you sure this is what you want? Did someone else put you up to this?" Hermione's eyes searched his face for regret.

"Hermione, I'm an adult and even if mum or dad did try to force me I wouldn't allow it. I'm doing this on my own accord."

Hermione gulped and replied, "I guess then as long as you're sure that this is what you want, I'm ready to sign." Hermione pulled the petition from her robes and unrolled it on the table. Pulling a quill from her pocket she muttered the quick spell that converted it to the standard legal quill. A quill she and all the other Dumbledore's Army members had gotten quite familiar with in her 5th year at Hogwarts. The quill would automatically write in the users own blood, the only difference between this quill and Umbridge's was that this quill was not charmed to crave anything into Hermione's hand. No, this quill just made the document legal and binding through her blood. As she finished her name the blood flashed gold and then turned black. Hermione pulled her hands away from the petition and it disappeared.

At the Potter's home the pile of petitions, along with the crumpled petition from Malfoy, disappeared. They were returned to their senders with a copy of the petition Hermione had just signed. Now everyone would know. She, Hermione Granger, little miss goody two-shoes, and bookworm of the century, was engaged to be married to George Weasley, half on one of the most notorious duos to ever enter Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Life would never be the same.

H O G S M E A D E

George had to admit that Hermione was a bit intimidating at first. She was a very powerful witch and to be on her bad side was not an enviable position to be in by any means. But today had gone well, she had been a lot calmer at lunch and after signing the petition the agitation that had settled around their table dissipated. After lunch they still had about 20 minutes till George had to return to work so they decided to take a walk toward the shrieking shack and back.

"Well if it isn't a Weasel and a mudblood." The cold voice or Draco Malfoy was unmistakable.

George immediately turned toward the sneering voice. "Haven't you got better things to do Ferret? Hmm?"

Draco smirked and replied, "So mudblood did you think you were to good for me?" He paused at this point. "Or do you just like to sleep with all the Weasels?"

George pulled Hermione behind him. "What are you on about you idiot?"

"This." Draco ripped a returned petition from his robes. It was addressed to Hermione.

"Well to bad for you Ferret, but Hermione here doesn't sink that low."

"No, She's already low enough isn't she?" Malfoy sneered as his eyes darted from George to Hermione.

"Watch it Malfoy or finding yourself a bride will be the least of your concerns." George's wand was out in an instant and a protective arm held Hermione back from Draco.

"Is that a threat Weaselbee? My father will hear about this. I know a lot of important people Weasel. Doesn't matter anyway though, as if I'd want that whore." As the word 'whore' left Draco's lips, George's left hook caught him right in the jaw. Draco immediately fell to the ground holding his face.

"You wanna call my fiancé a whore?!" George pointed his wand directly at Draco's nose. "Try any more of this shit Malfoy and I will make sure that they won't even recognize what they find of you."

"George, come on, lets go! It's not a big deal, it's just Malfoy." Hermione cried as she pulled on George's sleeve.

"Hermione, I'm not going to stand here and let him call you that. No wife of mine will be called a 'whore' and you'll do well to remember that Malfoy. Now apologize to my fiancé." When Draco merely grunted and tried to get up George pulled him up by the collar and held him up. "Maybe you didn't understand Ferret, I said apologize to her!" With a glare, Malfoy muttered under his breath an unintelligible reply. "Say it like you mean it, or I'm going to make you mean it." George gave him a shake.

"I'm sorry." Draco said as he continued to glare at Hermione.

"I'm sorry Hermione." George emphasized her name and shook Malfoy again.

"I'm sorry Hermione." Draco said. George dropped him and wrapped a protective arm around Hermione's shoulders.

"George you shouldn't have done that. He always treats me that way and I don't want you in any trouble over me." Hermione said as they began to walk away.

Behind them, Draco scrambled to his feet and yelled "Sectumsempra!" The curse that erupted from his wand sped toward the couple.

But Hermione was smart enough to know Draco would not take well to being forced into an apology. Grabbing her wand from her pocket at the first syllable of the curse she turned and countered, "Protego!" The curse was stopped before it could do harm.

"If you want to play ferret, we'll play. Pick a date and a time." George said pulling his wand back out. But Draco was already gone with a crack. "That sneaky little ferret disapparated! When I get my hands on him…"

"George! That's enough violence for one day. You need to get back to the store soon or Fred will think I've done you in for sure." Hermione said as she pulled him away from the scene of the encounter.

"Alright, I'm done, but if I ever catch him trying to humiliate you again I will seriously hurt him." The look on George's face told Hermione he was not joking.

"Thank you George, for defending my honor and all that but it's not necessary. I can take care of myself you know." Hermione stopped and looked at him meaningfully.

"Hermione, I'm going to be your husband. If I'm not supposed to look out for you, who is?"

"No one needs to 'look out' for me George. I'm a big girl."

Laughing George shook his head. "No Hermione, you are my fiancé and I can't have that little spoiled brat trying to upset you. Soon enough we will be married and starting a family, he needs to be taken care of before he tries to hurt you."

Smiling Hermione said, "George, if he thinks it bothers us he'll continue to do it, if we ignore him he'll get bored and stop."

"I don't trust him to stop Hermione, he's a deatheater that got off and I'm sure he'd do anything to mess with you. You were the reason that they lost the war."

"No George, Harry is. I just helped him along."

"Harry wouldn't have won without your help. He'd have never known how to kill him."

Conceding that she was responsible for Harry's strategy with a nod of her head, she looked at him and asked a question she'd been wondering since his petition had landed in her hands. "George, why did you petition for me?"

"About that…." George trailed off as he struggled to come up with an acceptable response.

Eh, just seemed like a good place to leave it. More will be coming soon I'm a step ahead for now and without a beta, I have to comb over the damn thing 6 or 7 times so I don't look like an inbred fool. So tell me what you think and review or not again I'm going keep on writing either way, but it's still so nice to see the reveiws….


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If I was J K Rowling, why would I be posting this online instead of printing 14 million copies? Hm? Doesn't make sense does it? Exactly, I am not J K and I will never be J K so I won't be selling this.

Thanks again to any and all reviewers. I do like the feed back. I will again say, feel free to drop me a review but I won't beg. I have standards, for now, but in all honesty I do appreciate them. Oh and thanks to my new beta clarinetguardgeek07.

Last Chapter

"George, why did you petition for me?" "About that" George struggled to come up with an acceptable response. "I think that we will be a good match." There he'd said something, and as a bonus, it was true.

"You do?" Hermione asked. Her surprise written on her face.

"Um, yeah, I do actually. Look Hermione we aren't that different. We have similar values and beliefs. I think that if we both try to make this work it will. I know you wanted to marry for love and so do I, since we can't fall in love and then marry then let's marry and fall in love."

"George, it's not that simple. You don't choose who you fall in love with someone. You just can't say 'Hey I want to love that guy' and suddenly feel butterflies when they hold your hand. You can't make those feelings out of nothing." Hermione looked at him as though scandalized.

"I'm not asking you to Hermione. I'm asking you to be open minded and to give me a chance. I want us to work, but not only that, I want us to be happy, not just comfortable but really and truly happy. Can you promise me that you'll try at least?"

"George, of course I'll try. I want us to be happy too. But you need to get back to work. You'll be late and Fred is sure to think I'm the reason for it."

"You're right. I've got to go; can you meet me for dinner tonight?"

"Sure. Can you pick me up around 6?" "6pm it is. I will see you tonight." George pulled Hermione toward him and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Blushing he pulled back and disapparated.

Hermione stared at the place George had been standing and shook her head. He'd just kissed her. Albeit on her check, but still, maybe she could grow to love him. Smiling she walked toward the small shops that she'd visited as a student on Hogsmead weekends.

"Hermione Granger, my favorite student."

As Hermione turned she came face to face with her favorite teacher Minerva McGonagall. "Professor McGonagall, I didn't expect to run into you. How are you?"

"Oh Hermione you've graduated, call me Minerva. It's a good thing I've run into you; I was going to send you a letter but I think in person will be better. Hermione, will you consider taking my old position as transfiguration professor at Hogwarts? Since I was promoted to Headmistress I haven't been able to find a good replacement for myself."

"Oh I'd be honored to do it but I'll have to check with my fiancé first. Hermione hated the thought that George could take this away from her if he so chose."

"Oh my goodness dear I'm so sorry. I'd forgotten that horrid law was passed. Who has petitioned for you?" Minerva's face was full of concern as she approached Hermione. "The better question would be who hasn't petitioned for me?" Hermione said with a bitter laugh.

"What do you mean dear? How many petitions did you receive?" Minerva's concerned face now displayed a look of confusion.

"Well, including my fiancés petition, I received 90 petitions." Hermione said calmly, as if still in shock at the number of her potential suitors.

"Merlin, how ever did you choose from so many?" Minerva asked.

"Well, I didn't really have that many choices. The majority of them were from people I'd either never met or could never consider. Ginny helped me weed out those." Hermione smiled as Minerva opened her mouth to ask the question that must have been burning on her tongue. "George Weasley."

"I sorry dear, what? George Weasley? You were petitioned for by, and accepted George Weasley?" Minerva's expression was priceless, a mixture of confusion and disbelief. At Hermione's nod Minerva sputtered for a moment and then cleared her throat. "That being the case I offer you my congratulations and wish you the best of luck." As an after thought she added, "You are going to need it."

Hermione smiled and agreed, "Oh, I don't know if luck will cover it."

"Hermione, I do hope that you'll consider the position as transfiguration professor. I will be disappointed if I have to rely on another half wit to teach such a complicated subject. But check with your fiancé and owl me so we can discuss this sometime next week. Until then my dear."

With a smile Minerva turned back toward the castle. Hermione sighed, this was her dream. To teach at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would be wonderful for her. She had found her place and now if was very possible that George wouldn't allow her to keep it. He had said something about living at his apartment and then he mentioned her being a stay at home mom a few years, what if the few years was permanent and she never was able to fulfill her dreams and live her life? These less than pleasing thoughts plagued her as she walked the quiet streets of Hogsmead. It was nearly four in the afternoon and she decided to head back home. She needed to get ready for dinner with George.

Meanwhile

If the patrons of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes at three thirty afternoon that day were upset by the sudden closure of the store they did not voice their protests. It was a common occurrence for this shop to close unexpectedly and very few had ever argued this. The owners were often inventing and experimenting with explosive ingredients and when the owners said leave, it was in ones best interest to vacate. So when one of the owners burst in the store and called to his twin, "She signed it! Fred, She signed it!", and the man who must have been Fred announced the store would close in five minutes, no one said a word in protest. After the last customer's purchases were packaged and the doors were locked, Fred and George finally were able to talk.

"I told you she would dear brother, she can't resist the Weasley twin charm, although I'm sure she's upset that she wasn't able to have the better looking twin." Fred smirked at his brother.

"No, I'm sure she'll be pleased to find her twin is smarter than poor Angelina's." "Gred, why in the world would Hermione need a smart husband? She's bloody brilliant remember?"

Laughing George shook his head and said, "Fred in all seriousness, I need some advice. Where did you buy Angelina's ring?"

Fred stopped laughing for a moment, "The ministry will provide those I thought." "No, not some cheap nickel ring. I want Hermione to have a real ring and I want the engagement ring to be on her finger tonight when I propose."

Laughing Fred shook his head, "Mate, she's already your fiancée you don't have to buy her a ring or propose you already did and she's said yes."

"No, Fred she hasn't. She's signed and what not but she hasn't really decided to marry me. I want her to fall in love with me remember? I want her to say in that stupid dreamy voice Angie uses, 'George was so romantic when he proposed to me, and I remember it like it was yesterday.' I don't want her to tell our children, 'The evil ministry set us up with this cheap imitation gold ring and a Vegas wedding.' Now, where can I get Hermione a ring that isn't made out of nickel?"

"Alright, if you want to waste your money, you go right ahead. The shop is on Shopshift alley it's between Diagon and Knockturn, it's called 'Mr. Hellson's Jewelry' if I remember correctly."

"Thanks Fred." George called out behind him as he ran toward the door. Shaking his head Fred smirked. George was in love with Hermione and was trying to make her fall in love with him by wooing her with gifts. Although Fred doubted these gifts would help, he didn't think they could hurt. Shrugging he walked over to the door and reopened the shop, alone.

Shopshift Alley

As George walked the small side street he realized that he'd never been in this area of wizarding London. It was more reserved than Diagon Alley and now that he thought about, more adult oriented as well. The shops, while not dark arts oriented, appealed to the adults of the wizard world with rarer potions ingredients, travel brooms, which instead of being speedy were durable and able to carry heavier loads than a racing broom, and home and garden ware. George understood why he'd never been here before, it was boring. The streets were quiet and nearly empty. As he approached the empty store he reached into his pocket and began to fish out his bag of galleons. Mr. Hellson's was a small store and had a somewhat hodgepodge collection of jewelry. There were rings and necklaces, bracelets and even tiaras. Everything seemed to glitter and shine unusually bright but George really wasn't interested in anything that was purely glitz and glamour charms. He wanted actual quality. Looking around the store George did not see Mr. Hellson. Shrugging he began to search the ring case for the ring that would be on Hermione's hand forever. A small section in the ring case caught his eye. All of the rings were the same, a heart with a crown over it and hands on each side of the heart. There were slight variations with each ring; some had diamond settings in place of the heart and crown, while others had emeralds, sapphires and rubies. Then he saw it, the ring that would sit on Hermione's finger for all time. It was simply beautiful. The ring was a mixture of yellow and white gold with a heart shaped diamond in the center. The crown was also jeweled and so were the sleeves of the hands. The actual wedding band was simpler but covered in diamonds as well. (Author's Note here is an address, go quickly check it out and come back. )

"Can I help you sir?"

The sudden sound startled George and he jumped back from the case. Before him was a rather young wizard. The man did not appear to be any older than Charlie or Bill, his dark brown hair was short and curly, and his smile was almost smug. His eye's were dark gray and seemed out of place in such a young man's face. Recovering himself quickly George pointed to the ring he had been admiring, "I'd like to know more about this ring."

"Ah yes, let me see." The man pulled out the ring and set it down on a piece of black velvet. "A fine choice, tell me is your intended Irish or yourself?"

Feeling slightly embarrassed and confused George shook his head. "No neither of us is Irish as far as I know why? Is that a requirement to buy this ring?" Disappointment clouded his face.

"Oh no, of course not sir, I had assumed that you knew the story of this ring, but if this is not the case, allow me to enlighten you. The story goes that, in the early 17th century an Irish man, Richard Joyce, was fishing off the cost of Galway a week before his wedding when his boat capsized. Richard was captured by Mediterranean pirates and sold into slavery to a Moorish goldsmith.

After many years, Richard escaped and returned home to Ireland to find that the girl he loved had never married. Richard made a unique ring for this love. The ring consists of three symbols: the hands signifying friendship, holding a heart signifying love, topped with a crown for loyalty.

Richard and his love married and lived in the village of Claddagh. Since then the Claddagh has been a symbol of love and unity in a marriage. When the Claddagh is worn on the right hand, with crown and heart facing out, it signifies the wearer's heart is not yet won. When in love, the Claddagh is worn on the left hand and the heart and crown face inwards. The crown and heart facing inwards declare to all that you've found the love of your life and you shall spend your life together. What better expression of love and marriage is there?" The man smiled and picked up the ring. "It is also charmed. It is has a locator charm that allows one partner to locate the other no matter where they are through direct apparation. The fidelity charm is also very strong and is guaranteed to keep a marriage faithful on both sides. The ring will not come off once it has been placed on your fiancé's finger as long as she lives. This ring is a package set and includes a more masculine ring. At this point the man pulled out another ring which was a band version of the Claddagh; it was also in white and yellow gold. (Link George didn't need to continue to look at rings, he already knew, these were the rings. Hermione would love them. They were perfect. "I'll take them."

What do you think? Leave a review and let me know if you could. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the ring story is actually true, I love those rings. ::Sighs:: Someday a sexy man will propose to me with one I keep dreaming at least, lol. More as soon as I can. Thanks for reading.


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